Tessa Snider, 26, recently opened The Nest, a boutique located at
6135 Lakeside Drive, No. 135.
Tell me about The Nest. What do you sell
there?
I call it a vintage urban boutique. I carry furniture, décor
and other stuff we like. I really enjoy furniture and vintage type
items, but I don’t like to be limited to just decor, so we also
have clothing, we have locally handmade soap and CDs, DVDs, just kind
of whatever I come across that I think people would enjoy buying.
You have another store in Sparks, Budget
Used Furniture. Is this at all similar?
They’re similar. Budget is more kind of functional furniture,
and in The Nest we carry more vintage items. Stuff with more character
to it. I think vintage stuff is a lot more well-made and just has more
personality to it, so we have a little bit more of that here.
Describe one of your favorite pieces in the
store now.
I have two. They’re both furniture pieces, actually. One is a
lime green, three-piece sectional couch from the ’50s, and it
must have been covered in plastic for the last 50 years because
it’s in immaculate condition, and it’s awesome. The
other—I’ve only seen this type of piece in a
museum—it’s a kissing bench or conversation bench.
It’s connected but you have one chair facing one way and another
facing the other, so two people can sit in it and have a conversation
or, if you’re more romantic, kiss.
While facing opposite directions?
I think you’d have to see it to understand it. But those are
my two favorite pieces, for sure.
Why did you open this store?
I just felt like expanding. I had a lot of people that didn’t
want to go all the way out to Sparks, even though it’s not far,
there is that stigma about Sparks. People say, I’d love to come
to your store, but I’m never out in that direction. I had a lot
of inventory and didn’t know what to do with it and had this
opportunity to open next to the Red Chair, so I went ahead and took
it.
So you’re 26-years-old and own two
small businesses. How did you get into this work?
It was kind of a whim. When I graduated from college, I had no idea
what I wanted to do. I had a major in Spanish and philosophy, so I came
home and didn’t know what I wanted to do. My dad was sort of
pushing me into opening a small business. I thought he was crazy. But I
thought I’d check one out so I could say, ‘Hey Dad, I did
it. Are you happy now?’ I went into this furniture store and
loved it. The next thing you know, I had this used furniture store. So
it’s totally random, but I think it worked out. I think my dad
saw potential in me I didn’t know I had myself. That being said,
it’s still been quite a struggle learning all the ins and outs.
It’s like a college education times a hundred mashed into a very
short amount of time.
I gotta ask: How’s business?
It’s doing well. It was kind of a weird thing to be opening up
a business in this economy, but I think people are realizing now more
that they can’t go out and spend $1,000 on new furniture at a new
store. But you can go and get a well-made piece—something that
won’t break down like the newer stuff you find today—and
you can get it at a fraction of the cost, and you’re not going to
see the exact same set-up in your friend’s house.
So many people talk about wanting to open
little businesses, and you actually did. That’s pretty
courageous.
I don’t know if I’d call it courage. I’ve heard
other words for it lately.